The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts is is looking for a new poet laureate to serve a three-year term.
The poet laureate is responsible to "promote an appreciation of poetry as an art form, promote creative writing and reading of literature, and promote literacy through poetry. The individual will serve as poet laureate for three years and receive a modest annual honorarium."
Eight Poet Laureates have served in the role. In addition to the above responsibilities, the person will "serve as an official resource available to commemorate for present enjoyment, as well as posterity, the City’s history and historic events, installations, groundbreakings, and public dedications, as well as many of the City’s annual celebrations, parades, and cultural events."
The online submission deadline for the Poet Laureate is Jan. 10, 2025. The person must be a resident of Alexandria for at least one year (and continue to be through the position's end), and must be 21 or older. To submit an application, click here.
The current Alexandria Poet Laureate is Zeina Azzam, a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. Her poetry chapbook, “Bayna Bayna, In-Between,” was published in 2021.
